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History
4/21/08
Tyrone Li
From 1861 to 1865, the Union and the Confederacy fought a civil war between the
North and South of the United States of America. Although the war was fought over slavery,
that was only one important disagreement. Even before the first settlers came to America,
there were differences between the geography and climate of the North and the South. The
two different regions developed different cultures and economies. This growth led to a
population and representation imbalance between the Union and the Confederate states.
There were deep differences between the North and the South long before the Civil War
broke out.
The Northern geography and climate was very different from the Southern one. The
colonial North stretched from Maine to Maryland, and was mostly in the Appalachian
Mountain Region. The elevation of the area averaged 5001000 feet. The Northern land was
mostly rocky and hilly with acidic soil caused by the many pine forests. There were few
easily navigable rivers because they are more rocky and fast moving in the North. The
climate was also harsher because it was affected by the higher elevation and the latitude
compared to the southern states. The North is colder and has only three to six months of
growing season a year. The precipitation, often sleet and snow, averaged around thirty to
forty inches per year. The combination of volatile terrain and the harsh climate discouraged
farming.
The colonial South stretched from Virginia to Georgia and was mostly in the Atlantic
Coastal Plains. Then, because of the scarcity of hills and mountains, the elevation averaged
less than 500 feet above sea level. The Southern land is relatively flat and it has smooth,
fertile soils. It has many navigable rivers that usually flow more smoothly than the Northern
rivers. The Southern climate is warmer because it has a lower elevation and latitude. The
growing season is six to ten months per year. Annual precipitation is an average of forty to
fifty inches and it consists mostly of rain. The space and the climate in the South was good
for agriculture.
The Northern culture began as early as with the first immigrants to Plymouth, and
Massachusetts Bay. The North was very religious, with mainly Puritan and a little Separatist
settlers who fled from England for religious freedom. With the need to read the Bible,
almost all Northerners were literate. Even in the early colonies, thirtythree percent of the
population lived in towns. The Northerners were loyal to their community and they shared
their tools and ideas with one another. By the 1860s both the North and the South had
expanded to and beyond the Mississippi River. At that time, only forty percent of people in
the North worked on farms. The Northern farms produced enough food to trade with in
addition to sustaining the country because of farmland acquired in the Great Plains. Ninety
percent of all the United State's industry was in the North, providing most of the
manufactured goods in the United States. The North had begun to communicate with
telegraphs strung all over the country. Railroads carried wheat, iron ore, and other raw
materials from one side of the country to the other. Attracted by the booming economy and
running from natural disasters, many immigrants flooded into the North in search of jobs.
With this promising economy, the North traded with countries around the world.
Although some of the settlers of the South were of the Anglican faith, most of the
first Southerners were not very religious, the South had been settled mainly by those seeking
work and land rather than religious freedom. The South remained mostly rural with only
seven percent of its population residing in towns. Southerners believed in social inequality
and tried to become richer than their neighbors by creating big farms. Two out of ten whites
and almost all blacks were illiterate because most Southerners did not have a way to get an
education and blacks were forbidden the chance to learn. By the 1860s eightyfive percent of
Southerners were farmers, and only ten percent of the United States industry was located the
South. Southerners still resorted to the river as the main form of transportation. Unlike the
North, which built its economy around free labor, the South built an economy around slave
labor. Southern farmers mainly produced enough food to sustains themselves and they
traded with England almost exclusively. The South stuck with tradition and developed
culturally and economically more slowly than did the North.
In the 1680, the North had sixtyseven percent of the population which, at that time,
was fifteen hundredths million. Then in the 1750, the North grew to have sixtynine percent
of the population which had grew to one and seventyfive hundredths million. Finally, in
1860, the population in the North had swelled to over eightyone percent whites and twenty
three million blacks with a total of thirtyone and thirtytwo hundredths million. In 1810, the
North had 105 representatives. Then in 1830, it had 144 representatives. Later, it grew to 154
representatives in 1850. One thing that boosted the Northern population was when the North
won California in 1850.
The Southerners started out with only thirtythree percent of the population in 1680,
which was only about a third of the total. Then in 1750, the South dropped down to thirty
one percent of the population. Later, in 1860, the population in the South dropped all the way
down to a total of only nineteen percent whites and five million blacks. In 1810 the South
had eightyone representatives. Then in 1830, the South grew steadily to ninetyeight
representatives.
In the November of 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected into office, soon after, South
Carolina became the first state to leave the Union. The differences in geography and climate
cause a rift between the ways that the North and South made money. Then the two different
cultures further separated the two regions. In the end, the differences in population caused
unfair representation which all lead to the separation. There were deep differences between
the North and the South long before the Civil War broke out.